SWP Declares $893,000 Quarterly Loss

TORONTO - Mar 10/05 - SNS -- The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (SWP) reported a net loss of CDN $893,000 on sales of $322.3 million during the second quarter ending January 31, compared to a net loss of $4,789,000 on sales of $326.2 million during the same quarter in the previous fiscal year.

This lifted the net loss for the 2004-05 fiscal year to $16.5 million on gross sales of $551 million, compared to a net loss of $14.6 million on sales of $609.6 million, the first half of the previous fiscal year.

Discussing the results, the SWP suggested part of the problem facing the company this season is "lower grain margins because of the late harvest, which resulted in having to pay high purchase premiums and shipping costs to secure the required quality commodities to meet its sales commitments in the first six months."

Chief Executive Officer, Mayo Schmidt says, "Operating results for the quarter are in line with our expectations given the poor quality crops available to grain handlers this year."

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